The Fates of Four The Four Fates
by Djinns
Summary: One lifetime...four fates. Do you believe in Fate? [co-authored with Fanatic]
1. Chapter One

Chapter One  
  
By: Fanatic and Maryjoan

The sun had stopped shining a few hours ago, and darkness was sleeping on the town. Silence was made of insomniacs' thoughts and vampires' dreams, as the Slayer entered the glass-like area. Transparent walls showed that the place was cold, frozen by indifferent politeness. They said it was made this way so the passengers could see the trains coming but the Slayer thought it was only to prove they had nothing to hide. The lady at the booth was smiling, but the Slayer knew it wasn't from joy. She sighed at this sight and came closer to the woman who was standing at the other side of the window.  
  
Her blonde hair was falling on her shoulders and she had too much make-up on but Kennedy thought she was kind of pretty, although she didn't seem to know it. She was probably in her twenties, near thirty. It was sad that she had to work at night, and sleep all-day... The Slayer knew her job too was only at night, and another sadness came over her. She was getting tired of this game of touch and go with vampires and demons. If today wasn't the end of the world, than it was tomorrow, and tomorrow was another fight she wouldn't dare think about.  
  
The brunette shook her head to forget about all that. She looked around to see normal people, who didn't know what was going on in their streets when they closed their doors. An old woman was sitting on a bench, almost asleep, holding her purse close to her, afraid of some burglar. A young man was beside her, staring at her like a guardian angel. He was probably her son, or more likely, her grandson. Then there was a teenager reading a book and listening to her black music so loud the Slayer could hear it or maybe it was just her powers that allowed her to perceive the sound. A man was cleaning the floor as Kennedy realized the station was crowded for this hour. There was luggage everywhere and their owners were watching over them carefully. Two kids were sleeping beside their mother and the brunette smiled. She loved kids, though she didn't know if she would have some one-day. She wasn't really a responsible girl, and she had to admit that, when younger, she had trouble with remembering when to feed the dog. A baby would be just too much for her now. She looked at her watch; looking at the children made her think about Willow. She had to call her after she was over with the tickets. It was near midnight and she was running late.  
  
She heard a lady's voice, and she turned her attention back to the blonde.  
  
"May I help you miss?"  
  
The Slayer smiled and came closer to the booth. She placed her right hand in her pocket to get Buffy's money, wishing she had enough. She hated when she went to pay for something and ran out of cash. When she missed by just one or two bucks. It was probably just her own personal pride, but she wanted to show the whole world she didn't need them to buy her something. Money was power. She had power.  
  
She frowned when she realized the money wasn't there. Getting nervous, she checked the other pocket, and found the precious dollars. Then she raised her eyes on the lady that was still waiting. On a badge was written the name 'Leila'. The brunette thought it was exotic for a woman that looked so ordinary, but she had to admit it fitted her anyway.  
  
"I want three tickets to..."  
  
Her Slayer instincts forced her to look at the glass-like wall. There was nothing outside, no train, and no people. She frowned, wondering what that intuition meant. A huge silence came over all passengers as Kennedy stared outside, feeling a danger getting near. The darkness wasn't revealing what was wrong, and Leila was getting irritated from waiting for her customer to buy her tickets. She had been working at the station for a month now, and she knew that people at night are slower than in daylight but the brunette was getting on her nerves, always getting lost in her thoughts. Perhaps her curiosity was bigger than her patience, because she asked:  
  
"Something's wrong, miss?"  
  
The Slayer didn't reply and continued to look at the window. Yes, something was wrong, but she couldn't put a name on it. It wasn't until the glass broke, letting in a few vampires, that she understood what was going on; they had followed her.  
  
She heard Leila's shouts for help and children's screams. The old woman stood up as fast as she could and then her grandson helped her to leave. People were running, as Kennedy took out her stake, ready for the fight. Her brain automatically counted the enemies she had to defeat; there were twelve. No one seemed to be the leader, but in this crowd of humans and vampires, the Slayer couldn't be sure of exactly who was evil and who wasn't. The chairs were now on the floor and much of the luggage was lying in the middle of the room. Kennedy thanked mentally those who had run without trying to bring everything with them; having potential victims and killers searching for blood in the same room never was a good idea. The fights were easier when there was nobody present to protect.  
  
Leila's shouts for help echoed in Kennedy's ears as the girl became more and more terrified of the twelve demonic faces passing through the crowd. The screams became louder as a group of three vampires headed toward the ticket booth with their fangs hanging out of their mouths and their eyes glowing that vampiric glow. She knew that she should be reacting but her eyes were scanning the exiting crowds for something other than the hungry vampires and this something she did not see.  
  
The shouts became louder and Kennedy turned quickly and slammed the window down on Leila's booth so that the sound was trapped with her inside of the glass confinement. The brunette turned back to the advancing group of vampires and then sidestepped as one swung at her with a silver dagger just barely missing her arm. Her next thought was to separate the group and give herself the advantage, something Faith had taught her. Kennedy landed a high kick to one of the vampire's faces but her attempt was thwarted as another threw her across the floor.  
  
Kennedy's face slid against the cold floor as she released the stake that was in her hand. She pushed her palms against the ground so that she could get herself up off of the ground but was kicked down. One of the vampires, he appeared to be the oldest, lifted her off of the ground by her arms and then tilted her head back so that her slender neck was left open for him to bite into. Normally she would be scared but her intuition was kicking in again and though she wasn't sure what it was she knew that it was a good thing. She sidestepped again as he disappeared behind her in a heap of brown and gray dust and then an arrow zipped past her. Whatever she had been waiting for, whatever her intuition told her was there, had saved her life.  
  
Kennedy quickly used her foot to kick her stake into the air and then turning around she jammed it into the vampire closest to her, turning him into the same brown and gray dust as the other. She blocked the others kicks and then threw him back to the ground as her eyes quickly scanned the train station for her help and on the train tracks she saw Vi, crossbow in hand, taking on two vampires of her own.  
  
Her stake had somehow slid across the ground again but the vampire she had tossed was now up to her with another demonic faced friend. Kennedy reached behind her for a wooden chair that had been discarded in the mortals' efforts to escape and swung it hard at one of the vampire's head, watching happily as it broken in her hand. She took one of the broken pieces and put it in the confused vampire's heart before throwing another piece through the air at a vampire attacking a civilian. Both the vampire's dusted rather easily but then the one with the silver dagger started to approach her and she had no weapon or stake to dust him. Suddenly, a vampire flew over Kennedy's head, a silver sword held loosely in its grip, and headed right toward the other vampire; it decapitated that one instantly.  
  
The silver dagger flew into the air at Kennedy and the brunette caught it, her reflexes prime, before it hit her in the head and made her like the rest of them. Her eyes locked on the booth that Leila had been in but the blonde seemed to have passed out. She turned back to the vampire with the sword and plunged the dagger deep into his heart before slicing it across his chest and turning him into brown and gray dust.  
  
The chalky dust was circulating in the air around her but she still kept herself still as she turned to see Faith turning two more vampires into dust. Kennedy laughed, finding comedy in the way that Faith slayed. The rogue slayer was currently beating her last vampire, who was already bleeding out of his chest, face, and arms. The younger girl watched as Faith leaned forward and licked the side of the vampire's face, blood getting into her mouth, and then spit back on the monster. She must've been tired with her game because she quickly pushed her stake into the vampire's chest and then smirked, amused as he dusted before her. The rogue slayer turned away from the pile and smiled at Kennedy before turning back to Vi who was heading toward them, she having already dusted her two vampires a long time ago.   
  
The floor was covered by dust and glass and the whole place looked like trash. The three slayers walked toward the window where the vampires had entered, almost fearing that others would come along. They knew they could defeat a few more vamps easily, but the more enemies you had to fight, the bigger the reason behind it. Kennedy shivered the outside's air was cold.  
  
At her right laid a dead body, and the slayer got sadder when she recognized it; it was the old woman that was sleeping so peacefully. Death had found its way to get her, and the brunette almost got mad against the boy that had been with her. He should've saved her... truly she was mad at herself, for not saving that life. Then she received images of the two kids, and she knew they were okay. She had seen them running away, and she smiled. They had saved souls again.  
  
Faith turned fast as she heard a moan. Kennedy laid her hand on the rogue slayer's arm to tell her it was all right. Leila was probably awakening, and she felt there was no more danger. But if Vi and Faith weren't with her, the brunette wouldn't have been able to kill all those vamps alone. The thought of dying scared her, and she trembled.  
  
Like every time she was afraid, Kennedy thought of Willow. She smiled at the idea of the small redhead that looked so fragile. She knew what power she was holding, but still she couldn't believe that she could rely on her. There was something about the witch that made her feel like she had to protect her. She realized the young woman was able to take care of herself, and that her protection wasn't really necessary. She shook her head and smiled. Willow needed her as she needed the redhead, and that was all she wanted to know.  
  
The rogue slayer stared at all the mess that was around them. Something was weird. Vampires don't attack a station because they want free tickets. She frowned; they had to know that they were there otherwise they wouldn't have attacked only to kill an old woman. She sighed and looked at the two slayers beside her.  
  
"I guess they didn't want us to see Giles either..." Faith said. She tried to look indifferent, but she was worried. If those vamps were here for them, there would be more, maybe not now, but eventually, there would be more.  
  
Kennedy took out her cell phone. She had promised Willow she would call her before midnight, and she was late now. The redhead would be worried. The slayer smiled; her lover was often worried for her. She dialed the number, which she knew by heart, and explained to Faith:  
  
"I'm calling Willow..."  
  
It was seven in the morning, the normal waking hour for England, and in the town of Devon people were beginning their travels to work mumbling over the silence about the bad weather from the night before. The silence could be heard for miles in this peaceful town and this sound was welcoming to Willow as she sat in the window looking out at the subdued shade of gray and blue that the morning had cast. She was thankful that she was at the edge of town, in a small Wiccan community surrounded by a large brick fence with a bronze swinging gate, instead of out heading toward the city where the noise from automobiles clouded the air. It made her smile.  
  
She was suppose to be doing research but her mind couldn't focus on the work that she had been asked to do. Though she had never really been any good at time differences she knew that it was well past midnight in New York and Kennedy had promised to call her before then. She had been up since four waiting for the call to come in but, as her eyes grew heavier, there wasn't a call. Her love for Kennedy told her to be concerned but her trust in Kennedy's ability to protect herself told her everything was alright. Their connection let Willow know that she was still alive.  
  
She looked down at the old book in her lap and ran her fingers over the text that did nothing but swirl in nonsense images in her mind. It had been like this for days now. Her fingers fell to her rust-red dress and clung to the fabric as its soft reminisces contoured around her pale fingers. The opaque designs stood out in her mind as her eyes traveled over the black symbols, one of which stood for love. That was the reason that she was wearing this dress... for the love. She sighed at this and lifted her fingers up to her hair and let them gently glide through the red strands. Willow then looked over her shoulder at the hallway beyond her bedroom before she lifted the book out of her lap and began walking down the hall toward the library to attempt more research.  
  
As she walked down the hall her eyes kept looking down at the old book, the text staring back at her. She looked over the inscription on the inside and then turned in a few pages and took in the artwork and the text that was carefully drawn in next to it. Her feet guided her down the empty hall right into the library without her eyes ever having to look up. By the time she had reached her destination she was further into the back of the book but she still had no clue what she was looking for. Her mind wouldn't steer itself away from Kennedy still in New York.  
  
Her eyes glanced up away from the book. The library itself probably held older books then the one in her hand within its twenty-foot bookcases, each shelf filled by category but none of them labeled. Tables and chairs filled in the center of the library making it a warm reading area and in the corner there were two computers set up on old mahogany desks. The computers themselves, Willow assumed, were probably just as old as some of the books... maybe older. She took another glance up from the book as she turned around a chair and saw Giles sitting in a brandy colored chair with a book on his lap as well but his glasses sitting on the side table with his notes. He looked up at her as she sat down across from him with her eyes still buried in the texts trying to concentrate.  
  
"Find anything interesting?" Giles asked.  
  
She shook her head...nothing.  
  
She turned and placed the book on the table. There was no use in attempting to do any sort of research with her mind still stuck on Kennedy and not allowing her to concentrate. She just wished that the girl would call and give her a chance to relax and take comfort in her voice...just call and let her know.  
  
Willow looked up at Giles with his fading brown hair that was mostly gray after the years of spending time with the Scooby Gang...damn did her and Xander watch too much Scooby Doo. She remembered this man, her once mentor, taking her to this place long ago with the open fields and the large library in an attempt to teach her about magic and her need for control, as well as everyone else's. Willow had fallen in love with this place. In fact, her inability to admit that she was ready to return to normal life almost kept her here.  
  
"Althenea said that there's almost no chance that we'll find anything here," Willow said.  
  
"Even if that is the case we still have to look," Giles replied to her.  
  
Willow nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well Kennedy and the others are coming soon with what they have," Willow said. "Maybe there's something there for us."  
  
As Giles was about to reply, the phone rang, making Willow smile. She hoped it was her lover calling, and then tried to control herself. Expecting something didn't mean that thing would happen, and she would hate to be deceived. A strange nervousness came upon her as she raised the telephone to her ear.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
She looked down to avoid eye contact with the librarian. He was staring at her, and she hated when he did that. His lack of expression always made her feel like a schoolgirl, and she didn't want to feel this way when she was with Kennedy. Hearing her lover's voice on the phone made her smile. She had to admit she missed her.  
  
"Kennedy, hi!"  
  
She frowned, and felt Giles' stare growing more and more intense. She wanted to tell him that looking at her wasn't going to let him hear the conversation, but she remained silent. This man was concerned, not curious.  
"What do you mean an attack? Of course, I agree that's not good."  
  
She turned her back to the librarian, feeling awkward. She almost felt like whispering so he didn't hear. Talking with her girlfriend wasn't a private thing, but now it was just really abnormal for Giles to stare like this. Perhaps he was concerned and wanted to know what happened as much as she wanted to know, or maybe she was imagining his attention on her. She concentrated on her lover's voice, happy to learn she wasn't hurt, and a little nervous about what was going on. She always got afraid when there were fights, and having a slayer as a girlfriend wasn't helping.  
  
"Uh-huh. The next train will take you where? Albany?"  
  
There was a short silence, and Willow stared at the wall in front of her.  
  
"Alright, we'll see you when you get here. Love you, bye."  
  
Willow hung up the phone, relieved to know that her brunette was okay. She turned to Giles who, at some point, had turned his eyes away from her and began reading again. He had probably realized that she had the phone and therefore was the only one who could hear out of it.  
  
She turned when she heard someone entering from the hall, as she expected to see a nosey Andrew parading around wanting to know what was going on. Instead she saw her long-time friend Buffy Summers walking in, as cheerful as ever since they had left Sunnydale. Willow watched as the blonde slayer walked toward her and Giles in the center of the library and flashed her a smile, which was of course returned by Buffy. It was funny to her how the presence of a slayer in the room reminded her so much of her girlfriend, who was still so far away.  
  
"What happened?" Giles asked from his corner.  
  
Obviously Giles was more curious about the phone call than Andrew was, as he still hadn't arrived, and Buffy hadn't even mentioned it since her entrance. The temperament of the old librarian could be surprising at times, especially when the Scooby's were up to something dangerous, and this occasion was no different.  
  
"An attack," Willow replied.  
  
"Looks like we aren't the only ones who are trying to get this thing," Buffy finally spoke.  
  
She was right...it looks like they aren't the only ones trying to find this thing.  
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

By: Fanatic and Maryjoan

It was morning but the only way of telling would be to go to the back of the house, near the library and kitchen, and look outside the windows at the sporadic display outside. The grass was blowing around and the smell of dew was rising, light was bouncing off of horse's coats as they began their morning trots about the field, and even though all of this was happening only a choice few people were awake. Most of the people at the old house in Devon were still quietly nestled into their beds this morning; after all, the slayers from Sunnydale greatly outnumbered the coven members and after all the excitement from their arrival the slayers needed their rest. Xander couldn't help but laugh at that because ever since he met Buffy he had been told that slayers don't need sleep, so there was something slightly comical in the fact that they all were sleeping and he was wide awake.

The clank of his spoon on his bowl bought him back to reality. He looked down at the soggy corn flakes floating around his bowl in the mess of milk and shook his head. He wondered how long he had been sitting there that his cereal had already become soggy and unappetizing but shook his head because it was far to early for thought to be taking place; especially for him. It wasn't that he considered himself to be dumb but rather that with his flannel shirt on he'd rather fit the stereotype of all other carpenters then be anything extraordinary. Extraordinary just wasn't Xander's style. His eye patch made his different and he was fine with that but being something better then what he was just didn't interest Xander Harris.

Xander shook his head and lifted his spoon to his lips hoping to finish what was left of his corn flakes off before someone else came into the kitchen and decided to make a comment regarding the state of them. Most of the people in the house wouldn't say anything to him anyway after Sunnydale but Andrew Wells would and most of the time that talk would turn into comic books and Star Wars references. Xander could enjoy that stuff most of the time, he was a closet-geek after all, but enduring as much of it as he had been for the past weeks just wasn't possible anymore.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see who it was that was entering the kitchen; praying in the back of his mind that it wouldn't be Andrew. He sighed in relief as he saw Willow walking toward him with an old book in her arms. He had known her all of his life and they kept many secrets between them, such as an incident with a yellow crayon. There was nothing that these two didn't know about each other, that shouldn't be kept quite anyway, and that was the way that it should be between best friends. He smiled as she walked further into the kitchen, toward him, and then watched as she grabbed a cloth napkin off of the counter and leaned over to wipe milk off his chin. Thank God it had been Willow that walked into the kitchen because other wise that would have been embarrassing for him. He wasn't sure if he could endure being made fun of by a large group of slayers for a week.

"Thanks Will."

"Of course," Willow replied.

He lifted his hand up and took the napkin from Willow. There was no need for him to look like a baby who couldn't wipe his own chin. He carefully wiped the rest of the milk off of his chin and then shrugged as Willow sat across from him at the table. He watched as she placed the large book down on the table. Xander knew that the main members of the Scooby Gang, minus himself, had been doing hardcore research for the past week but he wasn't sure about what. Xander hadn't even really been in a room with any of them for too long to ask them either. In fact, until Willow walked into the room, he hadn't seen any of them in a day; just the other slayers who had been running around the house and a few members of the coven who required his help with field work. He sighed at the thought of not seeing his friends for so long and then pointed toward the book in Willow's lap.

"What's up?"

"Doing research."  
  
Xander smiled. He knew she had been doing research, but probably her friend didn't really want to talk about it. He wanted to make her smile because he hated to see that worried face on his little witch. Knowing Willow for so long, he always felt like she was his, though he knew she wasn't and that she never would be.

He erased such sad thoughts of his mind, because he always said it was the worst way to start a day. Depression never was good, but when you just woke up, it was worse. He took a sip of milk but he wasn't as hungry as he was before. He turned his attention on the redhead who seemed preoccupied. He stared at her, and she looked backed, not answering the question he was holding in his eye. He wanted to know what was going on, what they would have to face eventually. Although he was getting tired of fighting demons, he always wanted to be involved. It was his only way of staying with his friends. Buffy and him barely talked to each other now, she was always away or busy, and Willow was doing magick or with Kennedy... doing magick. He smiled at the thought, but decided not to tell the witch. She hated when he embarrassed her, even if it wasn't in public.

"I see... Next apocalypse..."

He paused, and looked at her seriously. Then he sighed, like he was remembering the good ol' days.

"So soon?" he added.

She laughed lightly, and he felt it was like a cool wind on a hot day. Willow's laughs were always making him feel better, because in his world he needed the others to smile. Even when he lost his eye, he wanted them to be happy. He wasn't the important one; he himself wasn't on of his priorities. The witch nodded at him, and opened her huge book on the table. Xander stood up to read over her shoulder, curious. His right eye traveled all the way on the page, trying to find any information that he would actually understand. That's why he hated research: he never did understood what was written in the books, and so he couldn't really help. Sometimes he was lucky: usually, he wasn't. He sat down and shook his head.

"I was never good with the research thing Will."

She giggled and looked at the book again, her eyes resting on the opened page but not reading. She was thinking about something else, Xander knew it. But before asking her what, he wanted to know what danger was ahead. Safety first, he thought. God, he sounded like a scout... He smiled again at the immobile Willow that was lost in thoughts. He patiently waited for her to tell him what was going on, and took another sip of milk. He really wasn't hungry anymore...

"I've been looking through this book for information on the future stone for days Xand..."

He nodded. As his brain tried to remember what was a future stone, he stared at her. She looked sad and also nervous, and he knew exactly why. She was missing Kennedy. Every time she was like that, it made him want to run to the end of the world to find the slayer and bring her back. Willow happy was all he wanted. And even though he loved to tease her about it, her love for Kennedy was an important thing for him too. Because it proved that she was over Tara, that she was getting better. And he truly never wanted to meet Dark Willow again. Once was enough.

"You got something else on your mind, don't you?"

He waited a few seconds but she didn't reply. She continued staring at the page blankly. He smiled again, and asked again:

"Something with dark hair, big round eyes, loving and very playful?"

God did I just described a puppy... He shook his head like he said something stupid, but did not add anything. He looked back toward Willow as she looked up at him with her large emerald eyes as if she had just heard something that was interesting to her. Willow always found something interesting in the smallest things; things that most people would just find strange or even annoying. She smiled at him approvingly and then nodded at him to let him know that he was right, but Xander already knew that he was right. Willow never had to tell Xander anything because he was her best friend and just always knew.

"I miss Kennedy so much Xand...and with the impending danger I'm really worried about her..."

She paused looking at her friend for comfort. He smiled at her letting her know that it was all right for her to continue.

"I mean she's all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and I'm sitting here without her."

Xander nodded at her even though he couldn't really understand where Willow was coming from. He only ever had two really serious relationships in his life between Anya and Cordelia but other then that his life was his friends. It was his friends that always seemed to be able to take care of themselves but never truly believed that he could do the same, especially since he lost his eye. Even during his relationships with Anya and Cordelia the two always felt that they had to make sure that Xander was all right. He was the one that everyone had to watch over. He was the one that they had to be concerned about.

"She's fine Will. Kennedy's a tough girl..."

He wiped his chin again with the cloth napkin before placing it back on the table and looking back into Willow's emerald eyes with his smoky brown ones.

"And plus," he continued. "Buffy told Faith that if anything happens to Kennedy she'd kick her ass."

He waited a few seconds to see if Willow would smile and then she did and the two started laughing.

TBC...


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

By: Fanatic and Maryjoan

Far back in time there were hundreds of them all spread over the world aiding those that needed it and stopping those who were against it. They knew all because they were connected to a greater power. That was when everything was perfect. Skyscrapers didn't exist and beautiful forest were all over and contained tons of animals that all lived in harmony together. But now there might be two of them doing all the work of those hundreds in a world where almost everything has been destroyed. As they became more and more outnumbered the Powers noticed and reacted by giving the now dwindling numbers assistance. That assistance came in the form of a girl; a slayer. She alone was meant to help aide what was now just four or five of them. When this happened, way back thousands of years ago, those that were left were given instruction by the Powers that Be and they followed their instructions closely; fully understanding what would happen to all good if they didn't.

The cave was dark and damp. Water continued to drop down on her and make her task that much harder with every step that she took. But she had to go on. She reached the last footing and stepped out of the cave into the light of outside. Her graying hair was hanging down past her shoulders; tied back in leaves and twigs before reaching her long silver robe. The robe was known as a "Cloak of Infinity;" it made the wearer invisible at will. This was going to help her escape when her task was done.

She looked as the groups of fairies that had come to aide her in her task passed over the entrance to the cave and dropped dust over it. The cave began to disappear before her eyes but it didn't surprise her. She knew that fairy magick was some of the strongest magick in the world. Now she was looking at a collection of rocks and trees with a path lying between them. That path was the same path that she had walked out of. It didn't seem it because of the light now falling down on it but it was the same path. She knew this and acknowledged it.

Her eyes closed and she began to chant. The chant was coherent to anyone or anything that might be around her. It was Latin, maybe, or possibly older. She continued in her chant for what seemed to be an hour but was actually much shorter in time.

"May time always be protected."

She stepped down the path at this, fairies following her as she walked farther and farther, before they all disappeared. It was like looking away for to long. She was there and then she was gone. That was the magick of the cloak of infinity.

Her hair always seemed to look like fire in the wind. The red would blow back and forth sort of slowly around her pale face with the emerald green eyes and freckles that were loved too much by a certain slayer. Lickable. She was sad without her and because of this the witch tended to do certain things that they would do if the slayer were with her. It included a lack of work, which was why that old brown book was still lying on her lap open to a random page as she swung on the porch swing.

Her eyes were locked on the path in front of the house. She was expecting Kennedy to be coming down it any minute now. Then the slayer would run to her witch and wrap her arms around her and not let go for a very long time. That was the way that she pictured it anyway. It was the way that she wanted it to happen. The way that it should happen. But of course Kennedy would have scratches from the fighting and bruises and those would concern Willow. The redhead would run her fingers over every one and ask the slayer how she got it and then tell her that she should be more careful. Things like that always worried her.

Buffy walked out onto the porch. She heard her friend but she didn't turn to her. Part of her wished that Buffy had gone with Kennedy and Vi instead of Faith. Buffy had been a slayer for much longer than any of them. She had been fighting for longer. She knew how hard it was. She knew how to be careful. But the blonde slayer also knew what to say to Willow when she was concerned about Kennedy, even if it only helped for a little while. And Dawn, of course, Buffy didn't want to leave Dawn anymore.

She smelt the tea as it was moved out under her nose. She reached up and took the cup. She had learned to love tea more and more when she was here a year ago.

"Impatient aren't we?"

Willow smiled at her friend.

She felt Buffy give a half-hearted laugh before reaching over and hugging her. Each had a cup of tea so the hug was kind of one armed. Hugs were good though, no matter how they were done. They released each other. Saving each from awkwardness that would inevitably come out of hugging for to long. Buffy sat down next to Willow. A talk was coming. They both knew it.

"I'm happy for you Will."

Willow's eyes looked from the road ahead of her down to the book. Her mind had been wandering. She could hear Buffy though. She always heard Buffy when she spoke.

"And if we figure this thing out then maybe I can say the same for you one day."

The redhead watched as Buffy shook her head.

"Don't think that way Will...We've gotten through worse. We **beat** the first."

There was a pause between them. Neither really wanted to go back to the battle with the first. So much was lost even if so much was gained and it really wasn't a subject that was good between the two of them even if it was between them and other people. That battle was something that each would prefer to keep silent between them. Not like it never happened but like it happened a long time ago and was now just in memory.

"I believe we can do anything," Buffy continued, her tone lighter.

Willow nodded.

"But this is Time Buffy. It's bigger then any First Evil."

The redhead watched as Buffy nodded in agreement and then turned back to the road as she heard a car approaching. He arms were already to be wrapped around Kennedy's neck and her waist ready to be held. A smile crept over her lips.

TBC...


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four **

By: Fanatic and Maryjoan

The books somehow seemed familiar to her. She remembered well the times when she didn't know about demons and vampires. Back then; life was boring, hidden by her sister's shadow. But with the experience of years, she had tamed those texts and became a great help with research. The whole library was her world, but she would never admit it. She loved going out, hanging around with her friends… She wasn't a nerd.

Dawn tried to focus again on the page that was in front of her, but there was no point. She had already gave a book to Giles, the one that contained all the information they could have. So reading over and over another story of demon massacres somewhere in old Tibet wasn't an important thing right now. She wanted to look up at the librarian, see if he was proud of her. But the closeness of Andrew kept her gaze down. If he noticed she wasn't busy, he'd start another conversation about science-fiction movies or a comic book series and she wouldn't support another one. He had been hanging around them since early morning, and, even if she liked him sometimes, he was just being annoying at such times. Researches on apocalypse were always stressful: with Andrew, it was worse.

Giles stared at her, half-smiling.

"That's an interesting find Dawn. Very good job."

She raised her eyes to look back at him, and smiled back. It took her a long time to find it, but when she did, she felt proud but also happy. Like there was nothing that could keep up against her: no demon, no apocalypse… She breathed down and answered, humble.

"I know… I was surprised by it, but when I double checked it still came up the same."

She laughed lightly; embarrassed by the attention she was having from the English man. It was a rare feeling. Right from the start, they were sure if somebody had a chance to find the information it would've been Giles. But then she thought of reading those few pages, and she had saved the world. They haven't won yet, but if they did, it was going to be because of her. She continued:

"Just imagine what Willow's going to say when she finds out that we should've been researching everything in Kuniseck."

Andrew looked more lost than ever. Apparently, he was part of the 98 of people who never heard of Kuniseck. She smiled: this African tribe wasn't in actuality a subject. They lived on Earth thousands of years ago, and historians didn't know much about them. They were burnt to death by some other tribe, and the whole story still was a total blur. The language had been forgotten, but survived because shamans and seers stole a few texts. Even if it still existed, it didn't mean many people used it. Actually, the whole language was used in rare spells and prophecy texts, and only to keep things secret. Since almost nobody could understand it, it was a great security. Until a teenager decided one day that she was going to research in Kuniseck, because everybody was avoiding it. It was hard and long to read those scripts, but she had decided she'd give it a shot. Successfully and hopefully.

Giles didn't notice Andrew's misunderstanding or Dawn's thinking.

"We need to inform them none-the-less."

Andrew then raised his head, illuminated by some random thoughts.

"It's like Star Wars."

What was he going to say? Dawn looked at him, discouraged by how the guy always found the way to bring science fiction up in all sorts of conversations. Sometimes she thought it was only funny, some cute habit he had. But soon it became a real plague. They couldn't avoid those replies he was saying; apparently life was exactly like in Star Wars. Of course, the reasons of this alike-ness weren't exactly what you could call 'clear'. But still, for him, it totally made sense. Exhausted, she asked:

"What are you talking about?"

The guy panicked for a second. She smiled: she knew he didn't have anything else to add. It had been weeks since somebody wanted to have the explanations of his always-sudden 'it's like'. He only wanted to say something, and now didn't know what to reply. The slayer's sister used to pity him in times like this: he needed attention. But right now he was acting like an idiot and she wanted him to figure it out. Unfortunately for her, he had a gift in improvisation, and managed to find something.

"'Cause… in the new Star Wars movies Luke thinks he has it figured out but really, he was looking in the wrong place."

She thought this thing could work with most movies, but decided it was better to avoid another Star Wars debate. Giles rolled his eyes and got up, wanting to replace a book on its shelf. He said, under his breath:

"And all the world's mysteries are solved thanks to bloody Star Wars analogies."

Dawn started laughing but stopped herself, raising her hand to her mouth. Even though he was mostly just being annoying, she didn't want to hurt his feelings and cause a fuss.

Suddenly Faith, Vi and Buffy entered the library, and she knew it wasn't a time to laughing. Giles nodded to welcome them, and Dawn felt a little sadness coming over her. She always felt down when her sister was acting like a stranger to her. Although they were supposed to act like two grown-ups, little Summer's sometimes wanted to hug her sister and forget about all those world-saving problems. But then she remembered those problems were making her whole life different from everybody else's, and she smiled. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were both still alive. The librarian pulled out his handkerchief to wipe off his glasses, like he always doing when the subject he had something on his mind.

"Good day to you all, nice to see you arrived safely."

He put his glasses back on and looked back at Andrew. Somehow the teenager felt betrayed with this sudden change of attention: she believed he should've asked her to come with him. She knew he was going to leave, to check on these Kuniseck texts she had found. She hoped he'd want to work with her on that. But no, he was avoiding looking at her by staring at this idiot. She breathed down to calm herself. It didn't matter, after all…

"Now if you'll excuse me I have some other business to attend to…"

And then he left, without waiting for neither a good bye nor any other sorts of replies. Since she wasn't running to her sister because he was there, Dawn felt a relief coming over her. To Giles, all kinds of public affection were childish, and therefore she tried to avoid them. But now he was gone, and her sister was there, standing in front of her. She stood up fast and ran to Buffy to hug her. Being in her arms made the world less dangerous. She never said it to the blonde girl, but when she was a kid, and there were monsters under her bed, she was calling mummy, and expected Buffy. It was her little secret: she always knew the only person who could get rid of those demons was her courageous, strong, older sister.

"You are so going to love me after you hear this!"

The slayer smiled and hugged her again, which meant she already loved her. The brunette's smile widened upon her face, and then let go her sister. Public affection was okay (when Giles wasn't around), but after a few minutes it was just embarrassing. In the corner she saw Vi smirking and then walking past them. She went to sit in the center area of the room, where there were couches and chairs, and Andrew. She chose a place far from him, and soon was imitated by the rest of the group. The guy didn't take it personally and came closer to the girls. He decided to sit beside Faith, who already hated him. Dawn never understood that behavior: even though he knew somebody hated him, he'd still go toward them, and try to make them smile. If he wasn't so peppy, he could've been a saint. But then his religion was Star Wars so…

Buffy smiled, expecting some Faith jokes. She was happy she had chosen the place beside her, and then could understand every mean thing she'd told Andrew. He opened his mouth to tell her something, but she cut him off:

"You say one word and they won't be able to find enough body parts to convict me."

The blonde slayer smiled, happy that Faith was back. She was the only one who could keep Andrew quiet, which was a real pain-releaser. They could've named Faith Tylenol; because of all the headaches she had avoided them. Science fiction, when it came from Andrew, seemed a painful thing to think about. He was talking about it constantly, and it got on everybody's nerves. Xander once found the way to shut him up, but Andrew also evolved. He had gained another habit: when somebody was trying to stop him, he'd start a huge debate on anything, just so he would be the one having the last word.

Dawn noticed her sister's happiness. She, too, liked the rogue slayer. At first, she hated the way she was so rude to people, but she sort of got used to it. Really, what she liked about that woman was that she had the capacity of making Buffy happy, and that she also could take care of the blonde when she needed it. Soon Dawn had learned she couldn't understand her sister and so didn't have any hope in helping her when she was feeling blue. But the other slayer could. And that made her likeable.

The brunette cleared her throat to get everybody's attention, and then said:

"Okay… where was I…"

TBC


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five **

By: Fanatic and Maryjoan

Beautiful: ever since she met Willow, beautiful was her key word. She gazed at her girlfriend, smiling at the few flakes of the sun's rays that were resting on her. With her, she felt at peace. She did not share those things with her lover though. They felt ridiculous to her. She didn't want to be treated like a hippie or a weirdo, so she just stared and kept her mouth shut. But somehow Willow knew. She always knew.

They were alone in the garden. Perhaps all of slayers were training somewhere or nobody actually liked to hang around here. The scents of the herbs made a few people nauseous but that wasn't her witch's case; she could've slept on the ground in that garden and wouldn't bother, except if a frog came by, then it would be trouble in paradise.

A pale hand cupped the thin petals of a fragile red flower. Its perfume was a secret since in this place where all essences were mixing together it couldn't be smelled. The fingers traced its design, and she thought it was like touching an angel's wing; although she never met any angel before Willow, she knew how it was. Just like Willow knew what she was thinking.

She gently offered her treasure to the girl she loved. The redhead smiled and leaned in for a kiss, but Kennedy backed away. The slayer grabbed her girlfriend's hand and raised it to her lips, caressing it with a kiss. She needed to tell Willow that she loved her. Only her body had spoken the words she did not dare say. It always was awkward to let it run from her heart to her mouth, and then to permit it to cross the line of her lips to finally transform it into a public fact. She did not expect her girlfriend to understand, but in their relationship it never became a problem. Things were that way, and none of them felt it was time to change everything. Present was perfect: she followed her lover and continued to pick some herbs for unknown reasons.  
They weren't preparing for a spell in particular, though Giles had said it was better if they kept some magic stuff close by, just in case. So Willow had volunteered the two of them, knowing that walking and talking into a huge romantic garden wasn't a job that scared them. Both wanted some time alone, even if they already had some; through chaos, being together was the most important thing to do.

Unfortunately, Kennedy's slayer senses reminded her that people other than Will and her were living on this Earth and one of them was getting closer and closer, fast. The person wasn't running, but she wasn't in a normal state, perhaps, nervousness was what made her walk in a hurry because the brunette knew it was a she; in fact, she already knew who was coming to get them. She sighed and then tapped on Willow's shoulder. The redhead turned herself to see her girlfriend pointing toward an approaching Buffy. She smiled and got beside her girlfriend, waiting for her friend to reach them.

"Glad I caught you guys. Dawn found some stuff on that Future Stone we've been researching on."

Kennedy sighed: they had fly all the way to Russia were they should've got some information, and they had found nothing, and then off to New Zealand and New York, still with nothing. Those events were depressing: fighting demons to finally get to see some weirdo who didn't know a thing about what you wanted to know. She had came back tired, cold because of the huge amount of snow there was back there, and most of all, discouraged. Being with Willow had been cheering her up: she felt ready for anything, but now she wasn't alone with her lover, and she had to face the truth that there were going to be more fights, more danger, more occasion to lose that gorgeous and innocent redheaded witch. Willow smiled to her best friend. How could she smile in a moment like this? The slayer felt betrayed for some stupid reason. She tried her best to stop reacting like an idiot; now wasn't the time to act like a fool.

"Care to fill us in?"

Buffy smiled.

"Of course."

Disappointment overcame Kennedy. Can't they spend a day without learning horrible things about how they were going to die? She sighed. Her girlfriend didn't even seem to bother. The worse feeling wasn't the fact that they were trapped in an occult universe, it was that she could not share it with her lover. The witch seemed to fit well with that anonymous heroic behavior, although, at the starting of their relationship, it was the complete opposite. Kennedy was the strong one, and Willow was the insecure girl that needed some love to be herself. Now that she was with a slayer, she had gained more confidence and often it was her girlfriend who needed her. All in all, they were depending on each other.

She felt something big was coming, and she knew maybe they wouldn't survive it. She knew it happened a lot of times in the past months, and even the last year, but she never was that scared. She felt every minute with Willow could be her last: she didn't want to spend those with Buffy talking about an upcoming and unknown potential danger.

But Buffy didn't think that way. She grabbed the herb basket away from Willow and started walking with them. As the three girls continued to pick some more herbs, Kennedy made a decision: she would not talk about her fears or about what she was thinking. Willow could never know how much she could act like a jerk sometimes. Her job was to slay, and she would. She would protect her girlfriend, since she had the strength to. She decided to trust in herself. Although she often takes that decision, she swore this one was permanent. She smiled, knowing that in a week or so she'd think the exact same thing.

"Dawn said that the future stone is this stone that holds the key to the future."

Kennedy stopped and stared at the blonde slayer.

"A key? Like Dawn?"

Buffy shook her head at Kennedy, smiling as if she found something funny in Kennedy's lack of knowledge.

"Not exactly… It's a real stone and I guess if it's touched by a person…" she stopped and corrected herself, "or a demon or vampire… then whoever touched it gets thrown in the future and can see any event that they please."

Willow stopped walking and looked at Buffy. Kennedy smiled: she loved the concentrated-Willow face.

"Then that person has knowledge of future events," Willow said.

Buffy nodded.

"And that person could use those future events for their own good," Willow continued.

Kennedy smiled; she felt somehow proud of her girlfriend. Buffy nodded in approval. The brunette looked away, lost in her thoughts. The stone must not fall under villain hands. She refused to imagine what would happen then. She turned back to stare at her friend.

"So where is this future stone exactly and how do we get to it before it gets put into the wrong hands?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Dawn said that the next couple of pages were ripped out of the book but..."

Kennedy saw nervousness coming on her lover's beautiful face. She looked back at the blonde slayer for more information.

"The guardians protected the future stone from evil."

The brunette frowned. She did not understand why they actually had to care about those stones if there were already 'guardians' keeping an eye on them. She looked from Buffy to Willow, confused.

"Then what's the big deal? If these guardians protect it then the stone is safe, right?"

"The magic is removed during an eclipse."

Kennedy stared at her lover as the red-haired girl stopped walking. She turned herself to face Buffy.

"Buffy, there's an eclipse next month."

TBC


End file.
